Tech Mom: Video Chat with the Kids When You’re on Business Travel

Are you a working mom who has to travel frequently for work? Do you want to have a more meaningful exchange with your kids while you are in a different time zone? I’ve had an unusual relationship with my kids since work often takes me to another state for a couple months at a time. Using video conferencing or chatting helps to keep you close when you can’t be there in person. Here are a few video chat options you can use to keep in touch with your kids. I like video chating with them since I can see their expressions whenever they are telling me a story about their day.

Video ConferencingSkype – Available as a free download for the computer and iphone.

Google Talk within Gmail – super easy to setup, just follow the link to install the plugin on your computer, it will usually detect your webcam.

Yahoo Video Chat
If you and your kids have Yahoo email accounts, you can setup your home computer with Yahoo instant messenger and configure it to use your webcam.

Facetime – included with iphone 4 and the latest ipod touches. If you have a Mac, just click on the link to install the beta to use Facetime for the Mac.